The Best of Gauti and Viru: A Flashback

Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag's solid opening stands were a big reason why India reached the summit of the Test rankings. Here are the best stands by the India's most successful opening jodi...

__START__117 against England (Ahmedabad, 2012)

Gambhir 45, Sehwag 117: India needed a strong start to kick-off their revenge series for the 0-4 humiliation they had suffered in England. On a slow turner, India were eyeing a 500-plus score for their spinners to come into action. Gambhir and Sehwag added 117 in what was to be their last century stand together at the last time the two of them were to feature in a winning cause together.

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__START__137 against South Africa (Centurion, 2010)

Gambhir 80, Sehwag 63: Possibly their best stand away in the most alien conditions against a potent South African attack including Steyn, Morkel, Tsotsobe and Kallis. India had put on a shambolic batting performance in the first innings and had scored just 136. The hosts replied with 620. Trailing by 484, they needed a strong performance in the second innings and Gambhir and Sehwag engineered the fightback. India scored 459 and lost by an innings and 25 runs, but the seeds of a revival in Durban had been planted.

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__START__233 against Sri Lanka (Kanpur, 2009)

Gambhir 167, Sehwag 131: An opening stand worth 233 at almost six an over had to be a match-winning one. On a cracked surface in Kanpur, the two Indian openers butchered the spin trio of Herath, Murali and Mendis as India made 642. Murali went for 175 while Mendis was carved for 162. Both went for over four an over and Sri Lanka's morale was so sapped that they lost that game by an innings and 144 runs to help India register their 100th Test win.

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__START__117 against England (Chennai, 2008)

Sehwag 83 and Gambhir 66: Chasing 387 for victory in a little over 120 overs on a spiteful Chennai pitch, Sehwag blitzed a madcap 83 while Gambhir stonewalled everything. Together they added 117 to set the stage for a masterclass from Sachin Tendulkar (100) who alongwith a battling Yuvraj Singh took India home on Day 5.

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__START__182 against Australia (Mohali, 2008)

Sehwag 90, Gambhir 104: Their rollicking 70-run stand in the first innings had already given India a healthy total of 469. Despite a 201-run first innings lead, India batted on and Sehwag and Gambhir blasted the Aussie attack that included Lee, Siddle, Johnson and Watson to help India force an early declaration mid-way into Day four and script a huge win. It marked a purple patch for Gambhir as India got on the highway towards the World No. 1 ranking.

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__START__167 against Sri Lanka (Galle, 2008)

Sehwag 201* and Gambhir 56: India had been annihilated by Ajantha Mendis in the previous Test at Colombo. They needed to bounce back and Gambhir, who was on a comeback trail and Sehwag did the rescue act with flair and substance. In a classical display of how to use one's feet against spinners on a turning pitch, they negated the threats posed by Murali and Mendis and formed the cornerstone of India's first innings total of 329. They went on to add 90 more in the second innings with Gambhir and Sehwag making 74 and 50 respectively as India leveled the series.

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__START__218 against South Africa (Kanpur, 2004)

Sehwag 164 Gambhir 96: In just their second Test as a pair, the Delhi duo set about attacking Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Andrew Hall as India set about their pursuit of South Africa's 510 on a slowish pitch in foggy conditions. Both openers scored freely and the low bounce hardly seemed to inhibit their stroke-production. That the rest of the batting line up that included the likes of Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman could add just 248 more showed how the duo batted in difficult conditions to save the match.